Atomic scale dynamics of correlated materials and emergent quantum states

对物质新阶段的研究往往揭示出以前未知的物理学；它通常也会导致以前无法想象的技术突破。目前，高温超导体、单原子厚板和奇异磁性材料受到了极大的关注。这些材料中的每一种都有望通过能源和计算机应用来彻底改变我们的世界。每一种都涉及非常复杂的相互作用的原子网络，负责集体的磁性或电子性质，与通常的金属或磁体根本不同。然而，复杂性极大地阻碍了对这些新特性的理解和控制。这项研究计划旨在揭开原子相互作用的确切细节，寻找对实现材料的技术潜力以及阐明潜在物理学至关重要的答案。在许多意义上，最终的衡量标准是制作一部材料对外部刺激做出反应的电影。这不仅模拟了技术设备，而且测量材料的动态响应比静态实验对我们的理解提供了更严格的测试。然而，在这些强相互作用的材料中，感兴趣的动力学发生在几万亿分之一秒的时间尺度上，也在原子尺度上变化。创作超快原子电影是科学面临的重大挑战之一。时间分辨扫描隧道显微镜(TR-STM)的最新进展揭示了一条通往电子系统这些非凡实验的途径。这项研究计划将TR-STMS应用于研究具有磁集体态和电子集体态的材料中的原子尺度动力学。扫描隧道显微镜的性质允许直接成像电子态。添加脉冲激光技术可以制作超快的电影；测量晶体中每个原子对刺激的反应。与没有原子分辨率的技术相比，这种能力大大减少了由于非常复杂的材料结构或无序的存在而引起的测量模糊性。该计划的重点是研究磁相互作用材料中的耗散。这包括能量是如何损失的，以及一组共同行动的原子之间的一致性是如何被破坏的。这些结果对高效率的磁计算和基于自旋的量子计算具有重要意义。除了磁性之外，这个项目还可以研究更多的东西。这为加拿大国内外合作研究高温超导体等材料打开了大门。追求对浮现量子态的原子理解将为新一代加拿大年轻科学家提供宝贵的经验，他们将在量子材料的革命性应用方面领导科学和工业向前发展。

Investigation of new phases of matter often reveals previously unknown physics; it also commonly leads to previously unimaginable technological breakthroughs. At present great attention is directed towards high-temperature superconductors, single atom thick sheets, and exotic magnetic materials. Each of these materials holds promise to revolutionize our world via energy and computer applications. Each also involves very complex networks of interacting atoms responsible for collective magnetic or electronic properties fundamentally different from the usual metals or magnets. The complexity, however, greatly holds back understanding and control of these new properties. This research program is designed to unravel the exact details of atomic interactions, seeking answers critical to realizing the technological potential of the materials as well as elucidating the underlying physics. In many senses the ultimate measurement is to make a movie of a material responding to an external stimulus. Not only does this simulate technological devices, but measuring the dynamic response of a material provides a much more stringent test of our understanding than static experiments. However, in these strongly interacting materials, the dynamics of interest happen on the time scale of a few quadrillionths of a second and also vary on the atomic scale. Creating ultrafast atomic movies is one of the grand challenges facing science. Recent advances in time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopes (TR-STMs) have revealed a path to these extraordinary experiments for electronic systems. This research program applies TR-STMs to the investigation of atomic-scale dynamics in materials with magnetic and electronic collective states. The nature of a scanning tunneling microscope allows direct imaging of electronic states. Adding pulsed laser techniques enables ultrafast movie making; measuring the response of each individual atom in a crystal to a stimulus. This capability significantly reduces measurement ambiguity, caused by very complex material structure or the presence of disorder, compared to techniques without atomic resolution. The focus of the program is on the study of dissipation in magnetically interacting materials. This includes how energy is lost and how coherence among a group of atoms acting collectively is destroyed. The results have important implications for high efficiency magnetic computing, and spin based quantum computing. A great deal more, beyond magnetism, can be studied in this program. This opens the door to collaborations within and outside Canada studying materials such as high temperature superconductors. Pursuing an atomic understanding of emergent quantum states will provide invaluable experience to a new generation of young Canadian scientists who will lead science and industry forward in the revolutionary applications of quantum materials.